Effect of Deficit Irrigation and Storage on Physicochemical Quality of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Var. Pechtomech)

Deficit irrigation is a water saving strategy used to make economic use of water for agricultural activities in order to save water for other purposes. This water deficit may have some negative effects on the quality and postharvest life of the food produced. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of deficit irrigation and postharvest storage on some physicochemical qualities of tomatoes. Tomato fruits (Pectomech variety) cultivated under different irrigation treatments (100% ETc, 90% ETc, 80% ETc and 70% ETc) were harvested and analyzed for firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and pH. Firmness was determined by a penetrometer, TSS by hand refractometer, TA by titrating the juice with a standard base (NaOH) and pH by pH meter. Results indicated that firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity increased with increasing deficit irrigation while pH decreased. However, these increases and decreases in the parameters with the various water applications were not significant. Titratable acidity of the tomato fruits decreased significantly (p<0.05) as storage progressed. Firmness of the fruits decreased while total soluble solids and pH increased with increasing storage period. Considering the percentage increases and decreases in the physicochemical qualities of the tomatoes in this study, it can be concluded that a 10% reduction in the amount or volume of water applied in the cultivation of the Pectomech tomato variety would produce tomato with optimum quality that would compensate for yield losses. Keywords: Deficit irrigation, firmness, Pectomech, titratable acidity, total soluble solids

Development and Examination of Sweet Potato Flour Fortified with Indigenous Underutilized Seasonal Vegetables

Developing nutrient-rich vegetable flour using locally under-utilized food crops in Africa would improve rural house-hold nutrition. This study seeks to develop nutrient-dense vegetable flour from different proportions of Sweet potato (Sp) 40–100%, Avocado pear (Avo) 10–40%, and Turkey berry (Tor) 10–40%, using completely randomized design (CRD) with 14 treatment combinations and three replications. The proximate composition, mineral composition, and functional properties were investigated on the composite flour. The results showed significant differences in all the parameters analyzed for the various composite flours. As the amount of Avo and Tor was added to the Sp, the proximate composition was enhanced except for the percentage carbohydrate, which decreased from 83.92 to 54.59 g/100 g. The mineral composition was also improved by the incorporation of Avo and Tor. Favourable functional properties were also obtained. The optimal composite flour was made up of 40% Sp, 35% Avo, and 25% Tor. The functional properties of the composite flours were better than the control (Sweet potato flour). Fortifying Sp flour with Avo and Tor is feasible and could be an easy and affordable means to improve rural nutrition, as it requires simple logistics for the ordinary rural household to produce the composite of the desired choice

ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF SOME COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata L.) GENOTYPES IN GHANA

ABSTRACT Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a widely consumed food crop and largely cultivated in the dry savanna region of Northern Ghana. However one of the major constraints to cowpea production in Ghana is parasitism by Striga gesnerioides given rise to poor yield, hence to solve this problem Striga-resistance cowpea recombinant inbred lines have been developed from IT97K-499-35 (Striga-resistant parent) x Apagbaala (susceptible parent). The current study determined the functional properties and nutritional compositions of seeds of four advanced genotypes (F 8 progenies) derived from the cross and compared to the parental lines and a local check (GH3684) to assess their potential use in food and nutrition based on standard chemical analytical methods. There were significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in the nutritional and functional properties among the new cowpea genotypes and their parents compared to the local check, GH3684. Water absorption capacities, oil absorption capacities, foaming capacities and swelling power of the new breeds varied between 1.57-1.67 g/g, 0.86-0.97 g/g, 17.89-21.68 ml and 2.77-3.23 g/g, respectively. There were high values for ash, fiber and carbohydrate with ranges 4.47-4.72%, 1.56-2.55% and 54.78-59.03%, respectively. Fat content varied between 1.17-1.36%. Moisture and protein content ranged between 11.81-13.24% and 21.63-25.28%, respectively. The results indicate that the four new breeds of cowpea have appreciable nutritional composition and functional properties and therefore have great potential use in the food industry